Once you return to India, you become a resident Indian, which means that you can no longer hold NRI bank accounts or even take advantage of any perks coming from NRI investments. For this, on the priority, you must convert/re-designate or close your NRE account upon returning to India.
If you do not convert your NRE account within three months of your coming back, this shall be considered a violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and will amount to a penalty.
Upon your return to India, you will be required to convert your current NRO / NRE savings account and deposits into resident savings account and deposits. Your coming back must be informed to the bank so that they can re-assign your deposit account from a non-resident to a resident account. It shall happen as per the regulations of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
The interest coming from this NRE account is tax-free solely for non-residents. Once you come back to India, any interest you have gained from your NRE account shall be taxable. As a preventive measure, you can choose to transfer your funds from NRE accounts to the RFC (Resident Foreign Currency) account once you come back to India.
Once you change your residence from abroad back to India, make sure that you inform your bank, fund house, and associated insurance company about this shift. Once you become a resident of India, upon your return, regular tax laws as applicable for ‘Resident Indian’ shall be relevant to you and not the previous one.
Remember that your foreign earned income will not be taxed in India as you guarded by the double taxation relief. For retirees, once your status changes, you can have access to perks of special senior citizen schemes for resident Indians such as Senior Citizen Saving Scheme and Senior Citizen FDs & PO Schemes.
For more information, you can contact our immigration experts at 8595338595 or [email protected]
